Archive for the ‘clothes’ Category

Reid has a lot of clothes. I’m not sure exactly how it happens. I remember distinctly deciding to buy 5 pair of stretchy pants, 1 pair of jeans, a similar number of tips and a dress for fall/winter. I may have neglected to check the dresser where the amazingly cheap but too big clothes are stored until Reid can wear them. As time passed, she needed (I’m sure it was need and not my wanting) a pair of black velour pants to match her new red shirt for the Christmas singalong. (There was another name for the event officially but we sang two songs about Hannukah and that’s about it. In any case, it’s a different story entirely.) Plus, there are people in Reid’s life who buy her clothes. Who am I to deny them this small pleasure?

And so it was that Reid’s dresser drawers came to look like this:

At first – in honour of this Tidy up Tuesday post – I started piling the long-sleeved shirts together and laying them next to the short-sleeved ones. But then it struck me how I almost never see some of these shirts on Reid. Also, the piles were dauntingly high. Being a woman of action (when forced, like when I’ve decided to blog about tidying something up), I chose a different strategy. I began putting outfits together: shirts, pants, underwear and socks. Oh, how proud my mother would be!

In the end, Reid’s drawers look more like this:

There are a few orphan shirts in another drawer. The orange one, bought especially for black and orange day at school, for example, is waiting for a suitable pair of pants to come from the wash. I counted 22 bundles in the main drawer. That’s more than 3 weeks of outfits, if you’re counting and that doesn’t include the dresses in the closet.

The bundle system is working very well in the mornings, as well. I grab one out and hand it to Reid. She has – so far – put the clothes on without protest. Once I she noticed a second bundle and mixed and matched from the clothes in the two but as long as she doesn’t see another option, she hasn’t asked. Many of the clothes are on a farewell tour. The shirts are showing belly and the pants are showing ankles. By the time we’ve gone through them all, it should be short-sleeved shirt and capri time. I’ll just have to be more careful as I shop. No, really!

I try to put together “Wordless Wednesday” posts – pictures without explanation – fairly often. If I had been quicker this morning, I would have taken a picture of Reid in her “ensemble du jour” but I wasn’t and so I’ll attempt to describe it, though I doubt I’ll do it full justice. Rather than the black-with-white-hearts pants and the black t-shirt that reads ‘Born 2b blogged” that I’d laid out, Reid wore:
* red and green Christmas socks with a reindeer head on each and gold threads throughout;
* lime green skirt with horizontal stripes in bright yellow, orange, pink and maybe red;
* hot pink top in cotton with a eyelet design sewn on and which is a tube top with straps at the bodice but ends in a full skirt that goes past her hips
* pink with multi-coloured polka dot rain boots;
* hot pink fleece; and
* hot pink shiny raincoat (because it was too cold for just a fleece, especially for a girl wearing a shirt that neither shoulders nor sleeves).

I was tempted to slap a “I dressed myself” sticker on Reid but I don’t any and I doubt anyone would think otherwise.

Speaking of stickers, Reid came home with a reminder sticker on her shirt last night, telling us about the plant and yard sale this weekend. I guess it’s harder to ignore a sticker than the papers that they’ve sent home so far. I might start putting stickers on myself when I need to give Ken some important information.

Whenever we’ve travelled with Dylan, he has put on whatever clothes we’ve given him. Reid is an entirely different kind of kid. This morning, for instance, I chose a pair of capris and a t-shirt for Reid for her first day of Kinderfarm camp at the Canada Agriculture Museum. She refused the outfit and went to her closet to choose a dress. I had to exclude “princess dresses” (meaning the ones with tulle, etc.) and said she needed a play dress. Reid’s first choice was an ankle-length dress, complete with wiffle, and I said “no” and redirected her to the cotton dresses. She chose one and added a wine-coloured shoulder-length cape that has white faux fur around the hood. She added the capris that I’d originally proposed – they were made of the same material as the dress.

When Reid came downstairs from dressing, everyone was awestruck, or maybe dumbfounded. I suggested that she’d need a jacket but she was sure the cape would suffice. Melissa came to my defence and said Dylan would have to wear a jacket. I left before they worked it out. Melissa may have talked Reid out of the cape before they left for Kinderfarm camp. If not, I bet she’ll have been the only one in faux fur ;+)

Updated to add Melissa’s comments:

Reid wore the cape to register and then we saw a sign that said the kids need hats…so I asked if she was just going to use her cape or Hoody ORRRR if she wanted to wear my hat that I had packed (a girly version of a baseball cap) and she chose my hat. For those of you who haven’t been around the Reid/Dylan combination lately, they have to one-up eachother occasionally, sooooo this morning Dylan begged me to wear my hat to Kinderfarm camp!!! Again. Very girly….but we talked him into Spiderman instead……

The kids got their Kinderfarm camp shirts today so we’ll have to get a good photo of them in those to share!

Also, being a mom of 2 boys, it’s nice to see a girl who wants to express her femininity. Reid really likes to prance and dance (vs. running full tilt like our boys) and a dress like the one she wore the first day of camp ACCENTUATES the dance moves very well! Perhaps she is aware of this and that is why she chose it…..to show off her MOVES!! Roy called her Paula Abdul, which is a bit out of date, but I suppose is FARRRR better than calling her Britney (EUCH!!) LOL!

Before Ken left, I joked that maybe I’d get Reid’s hair cut as a “welcome home” present for him. His response was, or was something close to, “Please do.” We’ve been discussing – maybe “discussing” is too mild a term – Reid’s hair since she was months old. I’ve been putting ponytails in Reid’s hair since she was 6 months old and she has been crying or fussing during the process ever since. Ken takes her tears to heart whereas I think of them as normal for a girl getting her hair done. I’m sure that means I’m evil or tricked by the fashion industry to accept pain for the sake of beauty but that’s what I think

In any case, when Reid asked to get her hair cut when we were in Niagara Falls, I agreed. When she changed her mind, I said that was “okay” also. When Reid asked again about a haircut last Friday, I agreed and mentally delegated the task to Aunt Karin and Uncle Roger. I was afraid that I’d cry when the stylist cut off Reid’s braid and that would be an especially bad thing to do to a girl who has a bit of a phobia about her haid (see above ;+) I duly made an appointment at the Melon Head’s hair salon for kids and Aunt Karin and Uncle Roger took Reid while I cleaned my house – or at least worked at cleaning my house – in anticipation of Ken’s return.

Uncle Roger took some pictures of the process. In most Reid’s eyes are looking off in space but she is, in fact, watching one of the televisions hanging from the ceiling. It wasn’t a stressful experience for her at all. Aunt Karin said that *she* had tears in her eyes when Reid’s ponytail was cut off but Reid shook her head to feel how light it was without the 10-12 inches the lady was holding. The stylist was a bit worried once she realized that she had cut Reid’s hair in the presence of an aunt and uncle and not Reid’s parents. It was too late to fix the situation by that point but I wonder if she asked the adults who accompanied the next child if one of them was the parent.

Two of the other stylists braided Reid’s hair – or the hair that had been Reid’s – to donate to Angel Hair, one of the charities that makes wigs for people who have lost their hair due to cancer. Aunt Karin said there was a moment when it looked like was going to protest not being allowed to take her hair home but it passed and she is now proud to have shared her hair with a child who needed it.

Reid’s hair is now cut to her chin. I told her that was the choice: as was or chin-length. She talked about cheek-length, as in cut even with her cheek bone but I vetoed that. Even Ken would have thought that a bit drastic. It seems Reid has a bit of her dad’s curls in her hair – not a curl exactly but body at the back – I remember that it was there when she was wee little and had hair this short but I’d forgotten. Washing and combing Reid’s hair is a dream at this length but I think she’ll protest more about the combing as her memories of having long hair fade. For right now, I remind her how much better it is and she stops complaining. I miss the braids but I guess I can always do my own hair. (But I probably won’t.)

Normally, I think that people shouldn’t be allowed to discuss Christmas before Halloween but the topic has already come up a few times at our house.

Reid was caressing her Christmas gown last Wednesday morning – it really is more a gown than a simple dress, it’s that beautiful and Grandma Joyce is that talented – and she asked when it would be Christmas. I told her that she’d have to wait 2 months for Christmas. Her shoulders slumped. I added that she’d be able to wear her dress for pictures this month and Reid perked up. She stared at the dress for a few more seconds and then noted that it lacked a belt. I pointed out the sash of the dress but Reid thought it needed a belt. I also demonstrated the jingle bell in the hem that would further accessorize the outfit but Reid remained firm on the need for a belt. To be precise, she thought it needed her pink, shiny plastic belt with a large heart-shapde buckle that is studded with pink rhinestones. Since I was hoping to leave the house without tears (on her part or mine), I allowed that belt could stay for a while but that it couldn’t be in her pictures. I’ll have to disappear it in the next week or so.

Reid discovered some coins somewhere or another once day recently and, as she gathered them together, she told me that she was going to give them to Santa so that he could buy her some presents. She didn’t specify what she was hoping for but rather said that Santa should choose whatever *he* wanted. It seems we’ve missed some part of Reid’s education vis-à-vis Santa.

Remember the year I wanted nothing more than for Reid to want a train set for Christmas? Well, this year I think my dream present for Reid will coincide with her preference, too. Several times I’ve had to pry Reid away from a dollhouse at post-care and so I started looking at wooden dollhouses but the dolls seem intended for younger kids – maybe 3-6 year olds. The Playmobil ones have people that seem more suited to the 4-8 year olds. Initially I wanted to avoid plastic, for environmental and quality reasons, but I think purchasing a sturdy Playmobil house that Reid will play with longer balances out the eco-friendly wooden house that will come and go more quickly. Plus, who can resist the look of the Playmobil Victorian dollhouse? It comes unfurnished, unfortunately, and so I’ll be soliciting room furnishings and people from anyone inclined to buy Reid a present.

Remember, there are only 52 shopping days until Christmas. I’m pretty sure Grandma Joyce has already started decorating.

I’m sure that most of the parents if Reid’s classmates were hoping that their kids would look good in their school pictures. I wasn’t. It’s so much cheaper to buy photos from the Loblaws’ Portrait Studio that I booked a session for Reid the day after picture day at school. And then I forgot to take her to it. (I do wish that the Portrait Studio was like the dentist and called me to remind me of the appointment.) All of a sudden, I was one of those parents who was hoping that the pictures from school would turn out. Of course, the company that takes school photographs doesn’t deliver the proofs right away. They must want to encourage prayer in schools or at least among the parents of the children in schools.

Two weeks after picture day, there was (finally) an envelope in Reid’s bag with the proofs in it. As far as I can tell, they took one really good picture of Reid that they then presented in various cropped versions and treatments. She looks so cute! I’m a (tiny) bit biased but it’s true. There is no glare on her glasses and they’re where they belong on her nose. She’s at just the right angle that no part of her face is magnified by her lenses (a new thing for me to watch for in pictures). All in all, I’m happy and won’t complain about paying what turns out to be just a bit more than Loblaws’ prices.

I worry, though, if my hoping for bad pics will come back to bite me in her class photo. We haven’t seen it yet and so there is always the risk that my wishes will have come true in it. It really is important to be careful what you wish for.

The other day when I was getting Reid dressed, she started to cry when I put her clothes on in the following order: underwear; shirt; tights; and then, almost, jumper. When I asked what was wrong she sobbed that she wanted her tights on before her shirt. I took her shirt and tights off and put them on in the “right” order. As I did so, I suggested that Reid should have told me the order in which she wanted her clothes on earlier. Reid’s voice broke as she said, “But I wanted you to know what I wanted. I didn’t want to tell you.” Oh, so now I fail her because my psychic abilities aren’t up to the task. Being a mom sure is tough.

While Aunt Pam and Reid were hanging out last week, Reid spent a lot of time playing with one of Aunt Pam’s hair clips. On Sunday, Reid had one of the hair clips in her possession and I told her she needed to give it back. Reid didn’t protest but looked at the clip a bit wistfully and went to hand it back. Aunt Pam decided that Reid enjoyed the clip so much that she could keep it. Reid was excited and wanted to clarify the terms of the gift. She asked, “Can I keep it forever?” I said that was the case and then Reid asked, “Even when Aunt Pam is dead?” I suppose that the definition of “forever” includes a period of time that is even longer than that but I agreed that it included Aunt Pam’s death. Reid was too happy about the possibility of keeping the hair clip forever to be conscious of the rudeness and morbidity of the question. In any case, it was a gift that was well-appreciated. Perhaps as much as I appreciated having Grandma Joyce and Aunt Pam around last week.

Little girls can wear things that would otherwise construe fashion faux-pas, don’t you think? Monday morning Reid wanted to wear sandals even though I’d already put socks on her. It’s pretty cool in the mornings, don’t you know. As she put on her silver wedding sandals (from Kathleen and Chris’ wedding), Reid provided me with a running commentary:

Cwute, so cwute. (Admiring her outfit) Betterer with wedding shoes on. Very cwute. (Looking at the ensemble “avec sandales”.)

And she was cute, in her navy jumper that Grandma Joyce made, red shirt, white socks and silver sandals. I’m sure no one would notice that her shirt was a “boy colour” – Reid’s words – once she got the silver sandals on her feet.

Last week Reid wore a super-cute skirt and top that used to be Danielle’s. They’re knit and have primary-coloured letters on a black background. While she was getting dressed we talked about how Danielle, who is not quite 16, wore the outfit when she was a little girl. Reid asked if people wore this sort of outfit a lot “in the olden days.” Yep, *in the olden days*, when Danielle was young, knit outfits were popular. Especially for the kids whose parents had newfangled inventions like the World Wide Web, portable cell phones and digital watches. (Sorry, I couldn’t remember back 12 years well enough to think of a really good third option. Feel free to supply a better example.)